Fuse.



W. C. BANKS.

, FUSE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 11, 1913.

Patented Jan. 5, 1915.

J w/TNEssEs y, 7/

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

WILLIAM c. BANKS, or* NEW YORK, N. Y., AssIGNoR, BY MESN'E ASSIGNMENTS,To

N-W EQUIPMENT C0., INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A C

lDRATION OF NEW YORK.

FUSE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 5, 1915.

Application filed March 11, 1913. Serial No. 753,584.

To all lwhomv it may concern.'

Be it known that I, IVILLIAM C. BANKS, a citizen of the United States,residing in the borough of Bronx, city and State. of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Fuses, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to fuses of the type commonly employed inelectric circuits for opening such circuits when the current flowingtherein exceeds a predetermined maximum.

The invention has reference particularly to fuses of this character inwhich the fusible strip is suitably inclosed and is s o held that adisrupted strip may be readily removed and a new one inserted in itsplace.

The invention is directed particularly toA the means whereby the ends ofsuch a renewable fusible strip are gripped and held.

In fuses of this character, it is important that the ends of the fusiblestrip be gripped very tightly so that the strip Willv be h eld in theproper position and good electrical contact shall be made therewith andso that the danger of the connections to the strip working loose undervibration shall be entirely eliminated. Such fuses are used to a largeextent on railway rolling stock where they are subjected to severe andcontinued vibration and with the types of fuses heretofore employed "thas frequently happened that the connecticns to the fusible strip haveworked loose.

The avoidance of this objectionable characteristic is one of the objectsof this invention.

A further object of the '.vention is to provide means for holding theends of the fusible strip in such manner that, while the ends aregripped and tightly held when the fuse is in use, it is possible toreadily remove the fusible strip or the parts thereof in order to inserta new one.

lThe invention involves the employment of gripping members lying onopposite sides of the fuse and movable in the direction of the length ofthe fuse, the arrangement being such that when these gripping membersare so moved in the direction of the length of the strip, they arecaused to move toward each otherthereby gripping the fuse tightly so asto hold it iirmly in position and' make goed electrical connectionthereto. This movement of the gripping members is effected bymtheprovision of inclined surfaces on certain of the parts whereby a wedgingaction takes place. Preferably the inclined surfaces are provided uponthe exterior surfaces of the gripping members and theseinclmed surfacescoact with the inclosing tube of the fuse.

I have illustrated the preferred embodimentcf my invention in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinalsection of afuse constructed in accordance with my inven tion, Fig. 2 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 1, the plane of the section being at a right angle tothat of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. l with the severalparts of the fuse slightly separated, Fig. 4 is an end view of the fuseand Fig. 5 is a transverse section at the center of the fuse.

Referring to thesedrawings, the fuse consists of a strip 6 of suitablemetallic composition, this strip being contracted at the center thereofin the usual manner. The strip 6 is placed within an inclosing tube 7made of fiber or other suitable insulating and nonin'liammable material.

In order to hold the ends of the fuse 6 rigidly in position and to makeelectrical connection therewith, I provide a pair of gripping members 8at each end of the tube 7, these gripping members being located one oneither side of the strip 6. These gripping members are semi-circularpieces as shown in Figs. 4: and 5 and their outer curved surfaces areinclined or tapered as shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3. The two grippingmembers are of such size that when in position with the fuse 6 betweenthem their ends project a short dista-nce within the end of tube 7. Itwill thus be seen that if the gripping members be moved in the directionof the length of the fuse 6 and tube 7, they will be moved toward eachother -by a wedging action due to the coaction of the inclined surfacesof the gripping members with the interior wall of tube 7. Such movementof the gripping members in the direction of the length of the fuse iseffected by a cap 9 which is interiogly threaded and adapted to engagethreads on the exterior of 'tube 7. The end of the cap 9is partiallyclosed as shown at 10. l

When the cap 9'is screwed up on tube 7, the fiange 10 engages themembers8 and forces them more or less into the tube '7.

When the gripping members 8 are moved thus, they are forced toward eachother by a Wedging action so that they grip the fuse -6 tightly betweenthem. The fuse is thus held firmly in position and good electricalconnection is made between the members 8 and fuse 6' because of thepressure of the members upon the fuse. Also good electrical connectionis made between the cap 9 and the members 8, as the cap is screwed upupon tube 7 until it isin hard engagementwith the members 8. Vlhen` theparts have been positioned thus there is no danger of their workingloose, as for instance, under the vibration of a moving railway car, asthe wedging of the several parts one on an other effectually preventssuch loosening of the parts.l

A lfurther advantage incident to the construction herein shown anddescribed, is that the' ends of the fuse 6 may be allowed to projectslightly through the openings in' the caps 9 and these ends may bestamped with indices of the size or capacity of the fuse. A furtheradvantage characteristic of the construction herein shown and describedis that a passageway is provided from the interior of the fuse to theexterior for the es cape of gases and for the relief of high pressureconditions existing within the fuse. it will be noted that the openingin the end of the cap or ferrule is of larger diameter than the width ofthe end of the fuse, and that spaces are provided between the grippingmembers beyond the edges of the fuse. Therefore, gases formed within thefuse may escape through the 'openings between the gripping members atopposite edges of the fuse and thence through the opening in the ferruleor cap. r

t willl be understood that the construction herein illustrated anddescribed may be modiied in certain respects, such, for instance, as.the location cf the inclined surfaces which cause the wedging action,without departing from the spirit of my invention, and all such obviousmodifications I consider within the scope of the invention and aim toinclude them within the terms of the claims appended hereto Having nowdescribed my invention, what l claim as new therein and desire to secureby Letters Patent is as follows:

1. The combination of a fuse, an inclosure therefor made of insulatingmaterial, a pair of gripping members lying on opposite sides of thefuse, a cap engaging the inclosure .and gripping members and movablerelative to the inclosure to cause movement of said members in thetiirection of the length of the fuse, and means for causing' @spies ofthis patent may be obtained for est diameter exceeds the interiordiameter of the tube, and a cap threaded upon the -end of the tube andadapted when turned upon the tube to engage said members and move themin the direction of the length of the fuse, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a fuse, a tube of insulating material inclosingthe same, gripping members on opposite sides of the fuse at the ends ofthe tube having inclined exterior surfaces whose greatest diameter eX-ceeds the interior diameter of the adjacent ends of the tube, land capsthreaded upon the vtube and engaging the gripping members, substantiallyas set forth.

a. A fuse cartridge comprising a tubular body of insulating materialhaving the inner surfaces of the opposite ends thereof iared outwardly,-a pair of wedge blocks disposed within each flared end of said body andhaving the maximum diameter thereof greater than the minimum diameter ofthe respective flared end of said body, the confronting faces of theblocks of each pair being dat and designed to receive the ends of thefusible element, and caps closing the ends of said body and adapted formovement upon the body and having the end ing, terminal caps closing andadjustably mounted on the ends of the casing, sectional inwardlytapering plug members having their larger endsv of greater diameter thanthe internal diameter of the ends of the casing mounted in the ends ofthe casing with the outer and larger ends in engagement with the capswhereby they are confined in the casing by the caps, and a fuse memberhaving its ends located between the sections of the plugs and clampedthereby when the plugs are forced inwardly. by the caps closing the endsof the casing.

This specification signed and witnessed this 6th day of March, 1913. l

l WM. C. BANKS.

Witnesses:

I. MoN'rosH, D. S. EDMoNDs.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Entente,

Washington, D. C."

